Egyptian Pound Extends Its Slide as Concerns Mount

The Egyptian pound sustained heavy losses Wednesday and the cost of insuring the country's sovereign debt against default jumped as concerns intensified over its economic and political turmoil.

Fears of further political unrest and a disorderly devaluation of the currency have led Egyptians to dump the pound and snap up dollars. The central bank, for its part, has abruptly reduced the amount of foreign reserves it is willing to sell to support the national currency, which fell to its weakest level since November 2004. At...